Nasal allergy and ear infections
I am 21 years old and I am suffering from tinnitus in my left ear while my right ear is perfect. For some time now I have developed dizziness, unconsciousness and drowsiness. There has been vomiting also. My ENT specialist suspected it to be Meniere’s Disease and gave me Vertin 16 mg, Wysolone 20 mg, Nasaldrop and Rabicap 20 mg. He has also done my audiometry test. I have mild hearing loss. I am under much stress. Could the problem be due to that? What should I do?
Unconsciousness and drowsiness are not the features of Meniere’s disease. Dizzy spells lasting minutes to hours with nausea or vomiting, tinnitus (ringing noises in the ear), fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss and fullness of the ear are the usual symptoms of the Meniere’s disease.
Usually these symptoms start in one ear, but can affect both ears in 30 per cent of the cases, one after the other. Hearing loss and noises in the ear can get worse during dizzy spells. Audiogram might show one-sided low tone sensorineural deafness in the early stages. The patient’s history is very important to diagnose Meniere’s disease. Electrocochleography shows increased negative summating potential.
This test is not very handy and may be available in selective centres in our country. Stress can always precipitate an attack of Meniere’s disease. Vertin (Betahistine) 16 mg, three times daily is advised long-term. Low salt diet is recommended. But Wysolone should not be taken for long periods, as it is corticosteroid.
The other medications advised are cinnarizine and prochlorperazine to be taken, if necessary on doctor’s prescription, along with Vertin. If symptoms are not relieved, thiazide diuretic can be given for short periods. If there is no relief from this treatment, surgical procedures have been tried in the past.
The current surgical treatment accepted all over the world is intra-tympanic Gentamycin instillation (injecting into the middle ear) on weekly or fortnightly basis, three to six doses, as an outpatient procedure. It has excellent results in relieving dizzy spells. But there is a small risk of worsening of hearing with this procedure.
You said that your right ear is perfect and that you have mild hearing loss in the left ear. If you have unequal hearing of more than 20dB in two consecutive frequencies, you should be investigated with MRI Scan of the brain to rule out CP angle lesions (Retro-cochlear pathology).
MENIERE’S DISEASE TINNITUS VERTIGO
Random Posts
Random Posts
If there is ONE BOOK on tinnitus that every tinnitus patient absolutely SHOULD READ, it is the bestseller from Ellen Currie entitled Living Tinnitus Free...